It’s time for me to come clean — I have a phobia. Not only that, I’m willing to bet most of you reading this suffer from the very same irrational fear:

I hate parking my car anywhere near other vehicles.

The worry of dings and scratches and carelessness fills me with a deep anxiety that even I consider crazy, and that means parking great distances away from other drivers.

It wasn’t always like this — I wasn’t worried about damage to the beat-up ’93 4Runner I inherited from my wife, the first vehicle I could call my own. I used to consider the scrapes and abrasions a kind of patina, something that brought the truck character.

Even after purchasing my 1994 LS 400, I wasn’t all that concerned. That all changed after an overnight visit to Toronto, where in the morning I discovered not one, but three dings on my mint door panels. From that point on, I have cultivated and developed a strong aversion to other vehicles.

The condition does have a certain triggers — after the “Toronto Incident”, I now refuse to drive in large cities unless absolutely necessary, preferring to park in the suburbs and use transit instead. The other occasion that sets me off are the winter holidays. From October through to January, I avoid mall parking lots at all costs.

It’s all very ridiculous — for the most part, any damage caused to a stationary vehicle can be repaired with a little effort. Door dings can be popped out, scratches can be smoothed away. Caring so much is difficult to explain, but it’s part of what makes me an enthusiast.

I’m sure there’s some stories out there, how do you park your car?

This CT 200h F SPORT was made possible by the folks at OpenRoad Lexus Richmond, the premier Lexus dealership in British Columbia and a proud sponsor of Lexus Enthusiast.